Broker confidence in property peaks

This is an increase in confidence since the end of 2020, when 87% of respondents described themselves as confident about their company’s prospects.

The research, conducted by Masthaven Bank, found that over three quarters (77%) of respondents said they expect their sales and revenue to increase this year, with close to half (42%) predicting their growth this year to be in the double figures.

Just 3% expected their sales to decline.

The brokers surveyed also expressed confidence about prospects for the property market as a whole – 88% said they were ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ about the market’s prospects for the next twelve months. This was an increase from the 71% who reported the same level of confidence at the end of last year.

When asked about the challenges facing their business, just over a quarter (26%) of brokers said that economic uncertainty was the biggest challenge their business is facing, a fall from 30% who said the same in December 2020.

A quarter of brokers (25%) reported that they were concerned about lenders’ service levels and 16% said they believed that the biggest challenge they face is further local or national lockdowns due to Covid-19.

Rob Barnard, director of intermediaries at Masthaven, said: “Broker confidence has climbed even higher since the start of the year, reflecting the current strength of the property market, as well as general optimism surrounding the UK’s vaccine rollout and the easing of lockdown restrictions.

“The industry has worked tirelessly to support homebuyers since the start of the pandemic. This hard work, combined with pent-up demand from early 2020 and government support in the form of the stamp duty holiday, has resulted in a booming property market - but there are still challenges on the horizon.”